Police arrest suspect in purse snatching

Lawrence Police arrested a man suspected of snatching a woman's purse Thursday afternoon in central Lawrence, and officers believe they can link the suspect to several similar recent incidents.

Officers responded at 4:19 p.m. to a call from a woman who had chased a man from TherapyWorks, 1112 W. Sixth St., to Fifth and Missouri streets. Officers then arrested the suspect about 10 minutes later in the 1200 block of George Court, police spokeswoman Kim Murphree said.

Sgt. Susan Hadl said Thursday night that officers still were interviewing the man, and he had not yet been booked into the Douglas County Jail.

Hadl said officers believed they could link the man to an incident Saturday morning in the Dillons parking lot, 1015 W. 23rd St., where a woman reported to police that a man pulled a gun on her and demanded her purse. She refused, and the man left the area.

After Thursday's incident, officers had recovered only some of the items believed to have been taken, Hadl said.